The problem of evil might be the most common objection to the existence of God today. But a powerful response is the counter-question: what about the “problem” of good? I am not the first one to make this argument, but I thought I might share how I am using it in an opening illustration to preaching James 1:2-4. Here it is:
All around us, we see senseless and gratuitous evil, as well as horrifying disasters. Terrorist attacks… Hurricanes… Earthquakes… Senseless wars and brutality toward children… Cancer…
Probably the most common objection I see to the Christian faith today is what is often called the “problem of evil.” This objection essentially says this: If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and good, then we shouldn’t see evil in the world like we do. If He’s all-powerful, He CAN eliminate evil. If He’s all-knowing, He is AWARE of all evil. And if He’s good, He HATES evil and wants to eliminate it. Yet, evil still exists in the world, in great and terrible measure. Thus, God must not exist (at least not in the biblical concept of God).
[There are significant unwarranted assumptions that this objection makes, but I’m not getting into that in this Sunday morning sermon.]
When we encounter this objection, we should NEVER be dismissive of the real pain that people experience… Never be insensitive…
But at the same time, we can begin with a couple of responses. If someone says that the problem of evil is damaging to the credibility of belief in God, what about the problem of GOOD for the credibility of NON-belief in God? If – according to their argument – the existence of evil counts as a pile of evidence AGAINST the existence of God, then what does the existence of a WHOLE LOT of good in the world count as evidence for?
What about the good of beauty? Of marital love and sex within marriage? Of parental selflessness and sacrifice? Of gorgeous sunsets and the paintings of Rembrandt? Of Beethoven’s symphonies? Of the intricate design of just your eye, not to mention the rest of your body? What about the good of the existence of life itself, and the UNIVERSE? I think the atheist has a bigger “problem” to answer in the problem of GOOD, especially when we understand the problem of evil in the light of the fall of man through sin.
And on top of that, the existence of God gives us hope in the MIDST of evil. We can look at evil and disaster and understand from Scripture that evil is NOT pointless or meaningless. Instead, the Bible teaches us that God has a purpose and plan that He is sovereignly working out through ALL circumstances, turning evil into good (Romans 8:28). And our text today (James 1:2-4) helps us see some of God’s purposes in the lives of His people through evil, persecution, trials, and temptation.
This might help you intro or illustrate James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:18, and many other passages – as well as get some apologetics into your preaching along the way.
Tags: Romans 8, 2 Timothy 3, James 1, 1 Peter 4
Sermon Illustr8r 